Katherine LaNasa, who polygraphed Jerry Seinfeld in a classic season 6 episode, says she “just didn’t watch a lot of TV” at the time.

The Pitt star admits she’d never seen Seinfeld before booking a role on the sitcom: ‘I was living under a rock’

Katherine LaNasa, who polygraphed Jerry Seinfeld in a classic season 6 episode, says she "just didn't watch a lot of TV" at the time.

By Shania Russell

Shania Russell

Shania Russell is a news writer at *, *with five years of experience. Her work has previously appeared in SlashFilm and Paste Magazine.

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February 8, 2026 2:02 p.m. ET

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Jerry Seinfeld and Katherine LaNasa on 'Seinfeld'. Credit:

Before Katherine LaNasa was whipping the ER into shape as Nurse Dana on *The Pitt*, the actress made a memorable impression on *Seinfeld* viewers.

The fan-favorite season 6 episode "The Beard" sees LaNasa play a no-nonsense NYPD sergeant who goes from flirting with Jerry Seinfeld to putting him through a lie detector test after he unconvincingly claims he's never seen *Melrose Place*. Ironically, LaNasa herself wasn't a big TV viewer at the time.

"I had never seen *Seinfeld*, nor had I seen *Melrose Place*, which is hilarious," LaNasa admitted in a recent interview with ETalk. "Yes, I was living under a rock."

LaNasa, who was early in her acting career at the time, explained that she was too busy taking care of her young son to keep up with popular TV shows.**

"I was a single mom, my son's dad was an older guy, and we didn't watch *Melrose Place*," she explained, referencing her marriage to late Hollywood icon Dennis Hopper. "I just didn't watch a lot of TV. I know it sounds crazy, I was just starting out in television."

As fate would have it, LaNasa is now married to Grant Show, one of the stars of *Melrose Place*. They wed in 2012 and welcomed a daughter two years later.

Despite going into *Seinfeld* blind, LaNasa fit right in on the iconic sitcom. After deciding to put Jerry through the polygraph test, she pushes him into a complete — and hilarious — meltdown. Looking back on it now, the *Pitt* actress says she still "remembers how creative they were" while shooting the episode.**

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"There was a whole scene in that where Jason Alexander is talking with the rest of them about this girl that he’s dating and how when she took off her wig or her wig came off and she was bald," LaNasa recalled. "He was like, 'She's bald, treeless!' This and that, and he just kept riffing and it was so funny and so magical just to see them rehearse and ad-lib."

Though she wasn't familiar with *Seinfeld*, LaNasa said it was immediately clear that the cast was "unbelievably talented." She added, "It was just a big bucket full of talent and I was pinching myself. I couldn't believe I was a part of it or witnessing it."********

Katherine LaNasa on 'The Pitt'.

Warrick Page/MAX

*Seinfeld*, which also starred Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Michael Richards, was quite the phenomenon throughout the '90s and ultimately ran for 10 seasons. LaNasa continued to find success on the small screen, appearing on such hit shows as *3rd Rock From the Sun*, *Touched by an Angel*, *ER*, and *Grey's Anatomy*.

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Her role in *The Pitt* has marked a high point in her career, with LaNasa taking home an Emmy at last year's ceremony for her work in the show's debut season.

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Source: “EW Comedy”